Textile manufacture



Patented Sept. l, l$36 PATENT OFFICE 2,052,815 TEXTILE MANUFACTRE Herman T. Gammons, Natick, Mass., assignor to Scott & Williams, Incorporated, New York,

N. Y., a corporation of Massachusetts Application october s, 1035, serial No. 43,350

8 Claims.

'lhis invention pertains to textile manufacture and relates more particularly to an improved method'of making fabric of highly elastic character, for example knitted fabric having inclusions of rubber filaments, threads or yarns. The copending application of Albert E. Page, Serial No. 13,078, filed March 26, 1935, now Patent No. 2,017,444, describes certain'of the diiiiculties commonly experienced in the manufacture of elastic fabrics such as lthose employed in the making of constrictive apparel, for example corsets, girdles, hosiery and the like,-in particular the trouble experienced in introducing elastic threads during the fabrication of the goods by usual methods of weaving, knitting, etc., on account of the tendency of such elastic thread to stretch excessively when subjected to tension of the order of that appliedto the associated inelastic yarns. In said Page application, one desirable mode of procedure in the fabrication of elastic goods is described which, briefly stated, consists4 in associating with the elastic threada stretch-limiting factor such as a relativelyv inelastic strand, and after fabrication of the goods destroying the continuity of such stretch-limiting strand by stretching the goods to such an extent as to rupture the stretchlimiting strand, thereby rendering the latter ineiective and leaving the elastic thread substantially free to stretch in normal manner.

While the method disclosed in the Page application is fundamentally sound and useful for the purpose the breakage of the stretch-limiting strand by mechanical stress leaves its fragments within the interstices of the goods, and in thin and` sheer goods this may be objectionable by reason of the tendency of such fragments of the stretch-limiting strand to Work out and expose loose ends at thevsurface of the fabric, or to impart a mottled appearance to the material. Furthermore, it is requisite that the body of the goods be of such elastic or stretchable character as to permit elongation of the goods as a whole to an extent exceeding the breaking elongation of the stretch-limiting factor .and that the body or relatively inelastic yarn be of sufllcient strength and so disposed as to withstand, without damage, the stress necessary to break-the stretch-limiting strand.

It is the object of the present invention so to employ the underlying principle of the Page invention as to make it applicable to all conditions, and to this end it is proposed to destroy the continuity of the stretch-limiting strand by means other thanmere mechanical stress and substantially to leliminate such strand from the material.

Such destruction and elimination of the stretchlimiting strand may be accomplished by chemical or certain physical agencies which attack the stretch-limiting strand with substantially equal vigor at all points in its length and which may, in 5 some embodiments at least, reduce such strand substantially to the condition of dust which is easily beaten, shaken or blown out of the goods.

It is here contemplated thatthe stretch-limiting factor, as suggested in the Page application, l0 will be a filament, thread, yarn, fine wire orV otherl definitely strand-like element of substantial tensile strength and uniform mass per unit of length, and such as may be produced by any of the usual modes of strand or filament manufacture, such, 15 for example, as spinning, extrusion; drawing or the like, and is to be distinguished from amorphous coatings, sizings, plastic encasements, impregnations or other modes of stiifening, strengthening, orA otherwise limiting free contraction or expansion of the elastic thread or yarn, and which have comparatively little tensile strength and which can not be depended upon for uniformity of effect, either in limiting substantial stretch of the rubber strand or in respect to subsequent removal from the goods.

Upon the assumption that such a stretch-limiting strand is to be associated with the elastic yarn or thread so as definitely and reliably to limit the stretch of the latter during fabrication of the goods, the present invention contemplates the employment of a stretch-limiting strand of a material different from that of the body (or relatively inelastic) strands employed in making the fabric,-the materials of the stretch-limiting strand and body yarns being so chosen respectively that they react selectively in a dierent Way when subjected to certain physical or chemical agencies, so that while the body or inelastic yarns are substantially unaffected by said. agencies, the stretch-limiting strand is, in a preferred embodiment, substantially eliminated, or at least so changed in its physical characteristics that it wholly loses its destructive character as a stretchlimiting factor.

While as above suggested it is contemplated that either or both physical and chemical agencies may be employed in eliminating the stretchlimiting strand, for example heat, extreme sold, electrolysis or the like, I contemplate the employment of chemical means as the most suitable under average conditions. Thus as a specific example, if the body of the goods is to be of silk, Vthe stretch-limiting strand may be of cotton or otherl vegetable ber, and after fabrication of 2 v e 1 I aptas the goods, the latter maybe subjected to a carbonizing process during which the strand of vegetable ber is attacked by an acid which carbonizes and so weakens it that it may readily be beaten out from the fabric in the form of small madefrom animal bers or filaments such as' wool, hair or silk;

Fig. 2 is a view generally similar to Flg. 1, showing a composite thread constructed in a slightly different way, but with itsconstituent elements so chosen that the stretch-limiting strand may be employed in the manufacture of goods made from vegetable fiber, such as cotton. jute, etc., or from filaments of vegetable origin, such as those made of regenerated cellulose;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a fine metallic wire employed as the stretchlimiting strand;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic elevation illustrating apparatus useful in removing the stretchlinuting strand by chemical means after fabrication of the'goods;

Fig. 5 is a-diagrammatic view illustrating apparatus useful in removing the stretch-limiting strand by electrochemical means after fabrication of the goods;

Fig. 6 is a Afragmentary front elevation to large scale, illustrating a rib knitted fabric made of silk yarn and having incorporated therein, as

an interlaid strand, a composite thread of the kind shown in Fig. l, -the parts being shown as they appear at the completion of the knitting operation; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but illustrating the appearance of the goods after the stretchlimiting factor has been removed, and with the goods laterally stretched. v

Referring to the drawing thenumerai I designates a rubber yarn such, for example, as may be made by cutting sheet rubber or by extrusion,

and of such cross-sectional area and shape as may be deemed desirable for use in the elastic goods'to be made. In accordancewith the present invention, a substantially inelastic stretchlimiting strand 2-is disposed parallel to the rubber yarn I and in contact with the latter, and is Vheld in association with the strand I by any suitable means, for examplel a helically wrapped strand 3. For certain uses, thei rubber yarn is in substantially neutral-or unstretched condition when associated with the stretch-limiting strand 2, and desirably,v for reasons which will hereinafter more fully appear, 'the helically wrapped strand 3 should be open wound, but as pointedout in the Page patent above Vreferred to, the rubber strand may be stretched to a greater or lesser predetermined degree preparatory to its associationv with thestretch limiting factor. f A

In accordance with the present invention, the stretch-limiting strand is made of'a material dif-` ferent from that of the body yarn'which is to be employed in fabricating the 'goods to be made.-

Other examples of the invention mus, if, forexaiple, it is proposed to make rubber yarn may be of cottonor other .vegetable knittedv goods from a body yarn or yarns of v animal origin, such as silk or wool, the stretchlimiting strand 2 which is associated with the fiber and preferably the helical wrapping strand Sisofthesamematerial. Y v

The composite thread, comprising the parts I, 2 and 3, is substantially no more stretchable thanany usual textile-yarn, being limited in this respect by the substantially straight inelastic strand 2. Having prepared the composite thread, it may now be handled in fabricating lthe goods in substantially the same way and by the same mechanism, including tensioning devices, as though it were an ordinary textile yarn. .Thus in knitting ribbed goods as illustrated in Fig. 6, for example, wherein the body of the fabric consists of a silk yarn or yarns 4, the composite thread of Fig. l, comprising the eicments I, -2 and'3,is led in through the usual feeding devices and interlaid between the frontand rear wales of the knitted material.

Assuming, as above suggested, that-the body yarn 4 is of silk and that the lstrands 2 and 3 are of cotton, these latter strands may now be completely removed by a carbonizing process such as is commonly employed for'removing burrs and the like from woolen goods, thusleaving the silk body yarn and the rubber yarn intact. For removal of the vegetable strands 2 and 3 after the goods have been knitted, the goods G (Fig. 4)

may first be passed through a bath B of a weak acid, for example,sulphuric or hydrochloric acid,

and then caused tov enter and pass through a carbonizing chamber Cin which the material is exposed to radiant heat from suitable heating coils 5 or the like which concentrate the -acid in the insterstices of the goods, thereby carbonizing the vegetable strands 2`and 3 and making them very friable. The goods may now be passed through a beater 6 where the material is .subjected to a violent beating or brushing and preferably to an air blast whereby the carbonized residue of the cotton strands is entirely removed in the form of dust. The goods may now be washed in any suitable neutralizing and cleansing solution and afterward dried.

When thus freed from the' restraining action Y of the stretch-limiting strand 2, the rubber yarn l resumes its normal ability to stretch thus permitting the goods to be stretched laterally, as illustrated. for example, in Fig. 7, the stretched rubber thread I then exerting a strong contractive eort such as isv desirable in constrictive garments'. Since, by the procedure above described, all vestiges of the stretch-limiting factor are removed, the finished goods possess a, maximum elasticity and are unblemished by any protruding or included remnants of the stretch-limiting factor. Thus the goods may be made as thin and sheer as desired without danger that its appearance will be marred by the inclusion of the stretch-limiting yarn, and furthermore the goods may be subjected to any desired finishing operation without interference from residuey of the stretch-limiting factor.

As a further example of the application of the invention, if it be assumed that the body yarn or yarns to be employed in making the goods is to be of cotton or other vegetable material, then the stretch-limiting strand should be of animal origin such as wool Vor silk.'v Thus as illustrated in Fig. 2, the rubber yarn Il (here shown as encased in a close woundhelix of cotton yarn l) has means of the open-woundhelix 3F also of wool.

This composite thread may now be interlaid between the front and rear wales of a rib knitted fabric knitted from cotton yarn and, after fabrication of the goods, the wool strands 2a'and 3B may be eliminated by passing the goods through a weak solution of a'caustic alkali, for example caustic soda or caustic potash, which selectively attacks the wool but does not injure the cotton or rubber. Subsequently the residue of the .wool and the reagent may be removed by passing the goods through appropriate neutralizing and washing baths with subsequent drying and beating if v necessary.

. As other examples of the selective removal of one textile element, leaving others intact, may be mentioned the use of a. silk strand asl the stretch-limiting element, used with a body yarn of cotton or wool, the silk beingv quickly removed by treatment with a boiling 1:1 basic zinc chloride solution, which has little effect on wool or cotton. Likewise, an alkaline solution of copper sulphate and glycerol will remove silk stretchlimiting strands from cotton or wool fabrics. It is further contemplated that the stretch-limiting strand may be made from one of the cellulose derivatives, for example cellulose acetate, which -is readily soluble in certain organic solvents, for

example acetone, which does not readily dissolve the natural textile yarn such as wool, silk orcot- 'may be employed, it being obvious that the smaller the wire, provided it aords the requisite stretch-limiting action, the more readily it may be removed after fabrication of the goods. If, for

example, the goods to be fabricated are to be of silk, the wire strand 2b may be heldin association with the rubber yarn lb by a helically wrapped strand l3" of silk which will then remain as a permanent part of the goods after fabrication; if the body yarn is to be of cotton then thiswrapping strand may be of cotton, etc. When the goods with the composite thread of Fig. 3 included therein have been fabricated, the material M (Fig. 5) may be run through an electrolytic bath E wherein a exible conductoror conductors A always contact with the metallic inclusions in the goods. Electrical current is supplied to the bath through this contact in such a way that the metal inclusions (the strands 2b) in the goods constitute the anode, and as the goods slowly move through the electrolyte, the anode is rapidly dissolved out or reduced to a friable oxide. The goods may then be passed through a washing bath W and then through a drying apparatus D, after which they may, if desired, be passed through a beater such as the beater 6 of Fig. 4,V

tus generally similar to that illustrated in Fig. 5 may be found desirable.

In the above description reference has been made particularly to the manufacture of elastic knitted goods, but it is to be understood that theinventionl is notnecessarily limited to the manufacture of. goods of this particular class but is 'equally applicable to the manufacture of woven or. braided material wherein an elastic strand is to form an .element of the fabric. It is further to be understood that lwhile certain speciiic materials have herein been referred to by way of example, and certain modes of associating the rubber yarn with a stretch-limiting yarn have been described, these particular features have been set forth merely by Way of. illustration and without intent thereby to limit the scope ofthe invention.

I claim:

1. That method of making elastic textile fabric comprising a body yarn of relatively inelastic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises as steps preparing a. composite thread by so associating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being of a material different from that of the body yarn, so manipulating said thread and the body yarn as to cause them to become constituent elements of textile fabric of a ypredetermined type, thereafter subjecting the fabric to thel action of an agency which disintegrates the inelastic stretch-limiting strand but which leaves the body yarn intact, and removing from the fabric the residue of the disintegrated stretch-limiting yarn.

2.`That method of making elastic textile fabric comprising a body yarn of relatively inelastic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises as steps preparing a composite thread by so associating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being of vegetable origin and the body yarn being of animal origin, so manipulating said thread and the body yam as to cause them to become constituent elements of a textile fabric of predetermined type, and thereafter subjecting the fabric to the action of an agency which disintegrates the stretch-limiting yarn of vegetable origin while leaving intact the body yarn of animal origin.

3. That method of making elastic textile fabric comprising a body yarn of relatively inelastic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises as steps preparing a composite thread by so associating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being of animal origin while the body yarn is oi vegetable origin, so manipulating said thread and the body yarn as to cause them to become constituent elements of textile fabric of a predetermined type, thereafter subjecting the fabric to the action of an agency which disintegrates the inelastic stretch-limiting strand of animal origin while leaving the body yarn of vegetable o rigin intact.

4i' That method of making elastic textile fabric comprising a body yarn of relatively inelastic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises 75 as steps preparlnga composite thread by solassociating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that 'the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being of a material different from that of the body yarn, so associating said thread with the body yarn as to cause them to become constituent Velements of a textile fabric of a predetermined type, and thereafter subjecting the fabric to the action of a chemical agent which selectively attacks and disintegrates the stretch-lim- "iting yarn throughout substantially its entire length, leaving the body yarn and the rubber yarn intact. l

5. T'hat method of making elastic textile fabric comprising a body yarn of relatively inelastic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises as steps preparing a composite thread by so associating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being of vegetable 'origin while the body yarn is of animal origin, so manipulating said thread and body yarn as to cause them to .become constituent elements of textile fabric of predetermined type, thereafter subjecting the fabric to Athe action of a caustic alkali of. suchstrength as to disintegrate the stretch-limiting strand, while leaving the body yarn intact.

6. The method of making elastic textile fabric comprising a body yarn of relatively inelastic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises as steps preparing a composite thread by so associating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being of animal origin while the body yarn is of vegetable origin, so manipulating said thread and yarn as to cause them to become constituent elements of a textile fabric of a predetermined type,v thereafter subjecting the fabric to the action of an acid of such strength as to destroy the stretchlimiting strand, while leaving the body yarn intact, and` removing from the fabric the residue of the stretchflimiting yarn.

7. That method of making elastic textile fabric v comprising a body yarn of relatively inelastic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises as steps preparing a composite thread by so, associating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being of vegetable origin while the body yarn isl of animal origin, so associating said thread and body yarn as to cause them to become constituent elements of a. textile fabric of a predetermined type, thereafter subjecting the fabric to the acytion of a weak acid, heating the-fabric thereby to concentrate the acid and carbonize the stretchlimiting strand, and beating the fabric to eliminate the carbonized particles of the disintegrated stretch-limiting strand.

8. That method of makingv elastic textile fabric comprising a body yarn of relatively inelas tic material and an elastic yarn, which comprises as steps .preparing a composite thread .by so associating a normally elastic yarn with a substantially inelastic stretch-limiting strand that the elastic yarn is unable substantially to elongate in response to applied stress, said inelastic strand being a fine metallic wirewhile the bodylyarn is of organic origin, so associating said thread and 

